Russia announces ZNPP restart plans despite Ukraine position

Russia will obtain licenses to operate, and potentially restart, all units of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine by 2027, plant director Yuri Chernichuk recently told Russian-owned news source Strana Rosatom.

Chernichuk told Strana Rosatom, which is owned by Russian state-owned nuclear energy corporation Rosatom that has occupied Zaporizhzhia since 2022, Rosatom will need to carry out inspections on equipment readiness “before launching.” Zaporizhzhia’s operations must meet Russian regulations and laws by 2028, he said.

“Our units have been idle for a long time,” Chernichuk said. He added that the most realistic option would be to launch Units 2 and 6 first since they are already operating with Russian-made fuel.

All of the reactors were stopped in September 2022, months after Rosatom first took over in March. The plant still provides 20% of the country’s electricity and produces six gigawatts of power.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s nuclear powerplant operator Energoatom, alongside Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, have maintained that the Russian occupation of Zaporizhzhia must end and the plant must return to Ukrainian control. Petro Kotin, chief executive of Energoatom, said in an interview with the Guardian that it was unsafe to restart the reactors and there were “major problems” to overcome before the reactors could safely start generating power again.

Energotom has also said, along with environmentalist groups, that Rosatom’s “illegal plans” to restart the reactors is a violation of nuclear and radiation standards.